CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

2017 Utah State

6–⁠7 (4–⁠4 Mountain West Conference), coached by Matt Wells.

Schedule and results

Utah State in 2017, game by game: lost at No. 9 Wisconsin 10–59; won vs. Idaho State 51–13; lost at Wake Forest 10–46; won at San José State 61–10; won vs. BYU 40–24; lost vs. Colorado State 14–27; lost vs. Wyoming 23–28; won at UNLV 52–28; lost vs. Boise State 14–41; won at New Mexico 24–10; won vs. Hawai’i 38–0; lost at Air Force 35–38; lost vs. New Mexico State 20–26+51−49Lost 10–59 at No. 9 Wisconsin-49No. 9 WisconsinWon 51–13 vs. Idaho State+38Idaho StateLost 10–46 at Wake Forest-36Wake ForestWon 61–10 at San José State+51San José StateWon 40–24 vs. BYU+16BYULost 14–27 vs. Colorado State-13Colorado StateLost 23–28 vs. Wyoming-5WyomingWon 52–28 at UNLV+24UNLVLost 14–41 vs. Boise State-27Boise StateWon 24–10 at New Mexico+14New MexicoWon 38–0 vs. Hawai’i+38Hawai’iLost 35–38 at Air Force-3Air ForceLost 20–26 vs. New Mexico State-6New Mexico State
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 1at9WisconsinL 10–⁠5916%
Sep 7vsIdaho StateW 51–⁠1383%
Sep 16atWake ForestL 10–⁠4630%
Sep 23atSan José StateW 61–⁠1048%
Sep 29vsBYUW 40–⁠2447%
Oct 7vsColorado StateL 14–⁠2750%
Oct 14vsWyomingL 23–⁠2857%
Oct 21atUNLVW 52–⁠2848%
Oct 28vsBoise StateL 14–⁠4136%
Nov 4atNew MexicoW 24–⁠1043%
Nov 18vsHawai’iW 38–⁠076%
Nov 25atAir ForceL 35–⁠3845%
Dec 29Bowls & playoffvsNew Mexico StateArizona BowlL 20–⁠2663%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to New Mexico State 26–⁠20 in the Arizona Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 6th in the Mountain West Conference.

In program history: The 54th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 120 on file).

Record
6–⁠7
Conference
4–⁠4 tied for 6th in Mountain West Conference
AP final
Unranked
Points
392–⁠350
Coach
Matt Wells
Elo
1463 +25 this season
SP+ rating
-3.3 No. 83 of 128; offense No. 95, defense No. 67, special teams No. 55
SRS
−3.6 No. 81 of 130 in FBS
Returning
66% of last season’s EPA, No. 54 of 128
Recruiting class
No. 104 roster talent No. 111 in FBS
Offensive coordinator
David Yost
Defensive coordinators
Frank Maile and Kendrick Shaver
Offense
Hurry-up spread
Defense
3–⁠3–⁠5

How good, play by play

  • Offense112th of 130
  • Defense29th of 130
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted123rd of 130
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted39th of 130
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense-0.0239%1.23112th of 130
Defense0.0041%1.0429th of 130
Opponent-adjusted-0.03 off
0.03 def		38% off
41% def		—123rd off
39th def
How these are measured

Play-weighted averages over games against FBS opponents; raw numbers, not adjusted for the strength of the opponent. EPA (expected points added) measures how much each play changed the expected score; success rate counts plays that kept the offense on schedule; explosiveness is the average EPA on successful plays. Lower is better on defense. Ranked by EPA per play among teams that were FBS that season. The opponent-adjusted row (offense / defense) is CollegeFootballData.com’s WEPA, which accounts for who each team played.

Drives and havoc

Points per trip inside the 40Average startHavoc
Offense3.5own 3318% allowed
Defense3.1own 2914% caused

CORE rating -5.4, 87th of 130 (offense -7.8, defense -2.3).

A trip inside the 40 is a drive that reaches the opponent’s 40-yard line; points per trip is how many it scored on average (allowed, on defense). Average start is where drives began (the defense’s line is where its opponents started). Havoc is the share of plays ending in a tackle for loss, a forced fumble, an interception or a pass broken up. CORE is CollegeFootballData.com’s context- and opponent-adjusted rating (points better than an average team; lower is better on defense). From CollegeFootballData.com.

Leaders

Passing yardsJordan Love QB1,631 yds
Passing touchdownsJordan Love QB8 TD
Rushing yardsLaJuan Hunt RB828 yds
Rushing touchdownsLaJuan Hunt RB11 TD
Receiving yardsRon’quavion Tarver WR569 yds
Receiving touchdownsRon’quavion Tarver WR7 TD
TacklesSuli Tamaivena LB111 tkl
SacksJalen Davis CB4 sacks
InterceptionsJalen Davis CB5 INT

Top recruits in the 2017 class

Carson Terrell TE★★★No. 1007
Henry Colombi PRO★★★No. 1229
Savon Scarver WR★★★No. 1262
Alfred Edwards OT★★★No. 1461
Mata Hola OLB★★★No. 1498

247Sports composite rankings via CollegeFootballData.com; national rank in the class.

The 2017 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks23.00.831
Receivers32.70.823
Offensive line42.30.779
Defensive line32.30.771
Linebackers32.30.782
Defensive backs32.00.760
Whole class182.40.788

High-school signees by position group, with their average stars and 247Sports composite rating (out of 1), via CollegeFootballData.com. Athletes are signees with no set position.

Roster 113

The 2017 roster

113 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2017 line; 67 have a stat line. See the roster

2017 Mountain West Conference standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
Boise State7–⁠111–⁠322
Fresno State7–⁠110–⁠4
San Diego State6–⁠210–⁠3
Wyoming5–⁠38–⁠5
Colorado State5–⁠37–⁠6
Utah State4–⁠46–⁠7
UNLV4–⁠45–⁠7
Air Force4–⁠45–⁠7
Nevada3–⁠53–⁠9
Hawai’i1–⁠73–⁠9
New Mexico1–⁠73–⁠9
San José State1–⁠72–⁠11

Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.